Abstract

While there is a substantial body of literature relating to the activities of Internet marketers and the technology which drives E-Commerce, less attention has been given to consumer oriented research. To partially address this gap in marketing knowledge, a preliminary model of quality determinants in Internet retailing has been developed in this paper. In-depth interviews with 14 experienced Internet shoppers provided the data that was used to develop the model. Respondents discussed what they expected from Internet retailers and the quality of service that they have received. The analysis of results indicated that inherent differences between traditional and Internet environments increased the significance of some quality dimensions, resulted in the merging of others, and introduced new issues which were not accounted for by SERVQUAL. The resultant model identifies six potential determinants of quality; web site, product offering, company information, transaction system, product possession, and interaction with the firm.